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The backstage battle continues again today between ABC and Prospect Park Networks. Now, ABC is countersuing Prospect Park Networks for $5 million for allegedly missing license payments owed to them for All My Children and One Life to Live!

According to The Hollywood Reporter, ABC came forth today with this claim after Prospect Park Networks earlier in the week listed that they owed ABC 1.7 million as part of their bankruptcy filing.

According to ABC’s claim. and now listed in the cross-complaint with LA Superior Court, Prospect Park only made licensing payments for the months of April, May and June of 2013, but only for All My Children the next two months and then nothing for either series thereafter. The cross-complaint also makes mention that once Prospect Park began principal photography around March 2013, and that it triggered their obligation to pay the Series Fees for both series – One Life to Live for the first season was $4 million, and All My Children was $4.5million, in total 8.5 million. ABC is now suing to get all unpaid licensing fees saying, they suffered breach-of-contract damages of at least $5 million.

Additionally, Prospect Park is still suing for $95 million against ABC for their claims that ABC sabotaged the relaunch of One Life to Live borrowing characters to either kill them off on General Hospital or create a “mega soap” and much more!

What do you think about ABC’s counterclaim? Isn’t it a shame that all that the fans and the actors involved wanted was to see All My Children and One Life to Live live again after ABC cancelled the two soaps, and in trying to bring them back in a new format, all this has occurred? Will AMC and OLTL ever live to see another day? Weigh-in!

I actually agree with you, Sue. And suing Prospect after they dumped these two soaps, and after doing what ever they could to ensure OLTL’s and AMC’s failure, is akin to suing a former, now deceased employee for collecting unemployment after they fired him.
Is ABC tired of being personified as a heart less beast? Then they need to stop kicking sand in the little guys faces. Bunch of bullies.

David replied March 13th, 2014 at 6:48 pm

The reason AMC and OLTL are off ABC is becaue the ratings were not there anymore to keep them gonig. And for all those that said The Chew would be a failure it is now placing #2 in all daytime shows in the key demos. ABC had a big press release about that today. The Chew’s production is far cheaper than AMC and OLTL’s were. The ratings for The Chew are now even or higher than AMC and OLTL especially in the key demos. People should stop blaming ABC or PP the shows were cancelled by ABC because no one watched.

How is ABC kicking sand in the face of anyone. They filed this countersuit before Prospect Park declared bankruptcy. It has been proven Prospect Park owns ABC the money and they also owe several actors and actresses who I hope also sue Prospect Park. They all deserve the oney owed to them including ABC.

First of all, don’t believe every press release that ABC puts out regarding The Chew. If you remember, they also had The Revolution and Katie and both of them are now cancelled. If you want to call The Chew a success, that explains one cancellation–not 2. It was just poor public relations to cancel both shows at the same time. Secondly, ABC keeps saying that in ‘key demographics’ which is not the same as overall viewership. And just because The Chew is doing ok this month, it does not mean it’s a hit by any means. ABC soap General Hospital has seen gains as well so maybe an uptick in overall ABC viewership was forthcoming regardless. Maybe GH and AMC needed new show runners instead of cancellation.

Nancy L replied April 1st, 2014 at 11:43 pm

The whole deal with ABC on OLTL and AMC was that Brian Frons, who is no longer in his position with ABC, wanted to have some show that was cheaper to make. It all came down to money – but we the fans and I had watched OLTL and AMC for 40 yrs! Frons put on “The Chew”, which as you say is cheaper to make and is holding about the same audience it had with AMC and OLTL. HOWEVER, and this is huge, ABC also put on “The Revolution” and it tanked, so all that money went down the tubes. ABC brought Katie Couric on and they are now cancelling that show this May, another error in judgment for ABC. ABC should own Prospect Park money not the other way around. We the fans and we are in the millions have lost 2 shows we so much enjoyed, while ABC is tanking with some of their picks!

David replied April 3rd, 2014 at 6:34 pm

Nelsen an independent company from ABC posts the ratings. ABC only lists the ratings based on those numbers. The Chew is drawing more of an audience in the key demos than AMC was. ANd yes ABC went with the cheaper show. A TV network is a business just like a supermarket, restaurant etc. They are going to do what makes them the most profit and at the cheapest cost.

I love the AMC and OLTL fans who cannot accept that The CHew is a success. But guess what The Chew is around to stay for a long time.

I think ABC never wanted PP to succeed. They wanted the money from them, but they didn’t want to face all the Monday morning quarterbacking when the shows succeeded online in comparison to their replacement shows that failed.

This seems to just be a pissing contest with ABC bringing their own suit to try and muck up the works and avoid paying large damages on the original suit; a ploy to get PP to the table and to settle the matter with the least liability and payment.

I doubt ABC wants to reboot the soaps. General Hospital isn’t exactly hitting it out of the park ratings wise. They’re doing better, but instead of really capturing the GH audience and showing real growth, they are stuck at about 3 million viewers and Feb sweeps were not good. Feb ratings are actually down from December and January. ABC sees that and I doubt they are inclined to take an expensive gamble on the reboots.

Harry replied March 13th, 2014 at 12:41 pm

Diego and Charday, did you even read the headline? ABC is counter suing Prospect–why not tell ABC to go away?

David replied March 13th, 2014 at 6:51 pm

GH’s ratings are higher than AMC’s and OLTL’s when they went off the air The Chews ratings are now at that level.

The only ones in the wrong here are the pitiful people of Prospect Park. Just go bankrupt PP and go away, so tired of this.

Both ABC & PP shouldve been partners working together on the reboots and creating new soaps…i think it wouldve couldve shouldve work with the soaps airing online first and repeated later on soapnet later in the day!!!

PP couldn’t repeat the shows on Soapnet because that network was owned by ABC/Disney, and PP ONLY have the rights to both shows, and both AMC and OLTL were both later repeated on Oprah’s cable network OWN anyway!

jimh(leave it to beaver) replied March 12th, 2014 at 8:30 pm

Chris, i know that…i SAID had ABC and PP been in soap partners together in the relaunch and create new soaps then they couldve aired repeats on soapnet which i know abc owns…thats why i said they shouldve worked together!!!

Harry replied March 13th, 2014 at 12:42 pm

Jim is right. That would have been the grown up user friendly approach.

Nancy L replied April 1st, 2014 at 11:46 pm

I could not agree with you more…ABC should have helped Prospect Park make it work. But ABC sabotaged PP. It sucks.

David replied April 3rd, 2014 at 6:36 pm

Soapnet was already going away before Prospect Park launched the shows. Most cable systems had already dropped it and the rest dropped it at the end of last year. ABC didn’t sabotage nothing Prospect Park sabotaged itself, then came up with this frivilous lawsuit after realizing they had no money.

My sincere hope is that Prospect Park is victorious and takes the alphabet network to the cleaners. From where I sit, all the alphabet people did was obstruct Prospect Park’s efforts to bring OLTL and AMC back to us. Why should they make one penny on shows they threw away?

I constantly pray that both OLTL and AMC will come back to us again soon.

TNT nice to see someone understand it. Prospect Park only came up with the lawsuit when they knew they didn’t have enough money. if they were so upset with the use of the OLTL Characters on GH, they woould have filed suit the minute it happened. instead they waited to file a lawsuit until they had stopped producing the shows becuase the idiots were broke and had no clue. So they filed what will turn out to gain them little if anything. Even if Prospect Park gets a settlement, ABC and its parent company Disney will still be doing just fine.

Travis T Thomas replied March 12th, 2014 at 6:45 pm

Because ABC still OWNS the shows. PP had to license the shows from ABC so they could produce them. I’ve been saying all along to so many fans that ABC wasnt trying to sabotage PP. ABC only made money if PP produced the shows. They were gonna make 8.5 million dollars on a show they didnt have to do any work on or produce. This was a total win for ABC. So ABC wasnt going to win anything by PP failures. They would actually be the losers not getting any money from the licensing fees. Most networks would be jumping at the chance to make income on a show they didnt have to put any money into. Thats why I have never bought this ABC is sabotaging us. Because ABC could only win financially, if PP won.

Whether or not ABC obstructed Prospect Park in some way PP signed a lease to produce the soaps.Now if PP wants to suspend production on the soaps the lease is still in effect.Plus the fact that PP owes money to lot of different people and not just ABC may shed some new light on that lawsuit they filed against ABC because they may have figured ABC would settle and not take their chances in court.Plus now that ABC has sued PP other people may follow.Plus in my opinion ABC may have more of a case to sue than PP because the lease is legally binding.

One year ago, everyone was so excited about PP bringing back AMC and OLTL. Actors, fans and soap websites were all so thrilled, and now we’re here. It’s unbelievable. Everyone has lost out from this. Everyone.

I had seen Corinne Conley(exPhylis Anderson Curtis, Days) on Canada Series Mr.D the other night and was suprised and happy to see her still acting…shes in her 80s now and still acts and looks great! So i agree weekly updates on soap stars from the past would indeed be great!!!

I was trying to reserve final judgement but ABC just lost me with this quote from a network rep. “We value the history and the legacy of both ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE…. Prospect Park has the exclusive rights to these programs. It was their decision to discontinue producing new episodes online thereby disappointing fans.” Seriously ABC? Are you kidding?!

ABC should never have gotten rid of All My Children and One Life to Live! They started the entire ball rolling and it got ugly fast! It was one of the worst moves in the history of ABC daytime programming!! They are still suffering for it.

Brian Frons should be sued and tortured, for canceling our beloved soaps on Abc. Brian Frons needs to answer to us, what an idiot for cancelling amc and one life to live, that was a huge mistake in what he did. I know abc, will never bring back amc and oltl. That bastard? Needs to pay.

This ongoing saga has to be a huge headache for ABC. It puts the cancellation of OLTL and AMC continually in the news. This serves to remind the long time fans of how much they despise ABC’s decision to cancel these shows. It is like the story just won’t go away. I still do not watch anything on ABC including local news. Did this ongoing nightmare have anything to do with Ann Sweeney’s desire to direct? I just wish that ABC would bring back OLTL.

I think ABC sucks. They went from being a once upon a time good network to really being in the dumpster. I hope they have to file for bankruptcy and are taken over by someone like Rupert Murdoch!!! ABC no longer earns the right to call themselves a network. Their unceremonious cancellation of AMC, etc. was cruel, mean-spirited and so thoughtless in their disregard for viewers. Those shows were not in evening prime time, they were directed to a different kind of audience, those at home during the day, and those who had been loyal followers for years and years. No one wanted another cooking show – and a bad one at that. And I think, based on EVERYTHING I read and my own personal opinion as well, that Katie Couric is despised, reviled and it would be wonderful if she would just go away and find a new career path. ABC is stupid, mismanaged and arrogant. At least it seems that Prospect Park was moving in a positive direction at their outset. Too bad that now everyone is losing. A wonderful show (AMC), with great actors, great acting and the capability to make us all feel like they were part of our own families, is now scattered about and probably couldn’t re-group at this point in time. I am truly sad about this and NEVER, EVER watch anything on ABC anymore!

ABC found a cheaper show in The Chew to replace All My Children. The Chew as of late is doing better numbers than All My Children was and is placing well in the key demos that determine advertising dollars. So int eh end ABC which is a business found a cheaper show that makes them more money. People need to get over the whole AMC/OLTL thing. Life goes on, all tv shows get cancelled at some point Be happy for the 40 years plus you had of these shows. Most TV shows don’t get that long. They are gone now move on with your life.

In response to the overwhelming number of comments from DAVID. David, you really need to get a life. What are you doing home during the day watching women’s programming…hmmmm sweetie? And my, how seriously you take the comments people have thoughtfully expressed. Hmmmm, wonder about you!!!

David replied April 3rd, 2014 at 6:42 pm

LMAO @ JAS great comeback because I pointed out facts instead of egging on all the people who live in a fantasy land about AMC/OLTL coming back, I am keeping it real. Its business and all about the money. And there are people with posts throughout this site that spend far more time than I do.

All of this wouldn’t have happened if ABC didn’t kill AMC and OLTL. ABC seems to have a problem with certain viewer time slots on daytime as they cancelled The Revolution and plan on cancelling Katie and Bethenny. This has to be expensive to keep cancelling then adding replacement programs.

Katie and Bethenny are produced by ABC but are syndicated meaning they in some areas air on a non ABC station. The local channels purchase these prorams. Those slots will be replaced by other shows. The Revolution is gone, GH is in that slot. The Chew which airs before GH is doing fantastic numbers. ABC’s daytime is in better shap than it was with AMC and OLTL

I am hoping that ABC again will reclaim the rights to the characters… at least even if the shows do end up in RIP status, at least maybe GH can then bring in some of our favorites to “visit” once in a while showing us characters like Erica, Adam, Vicki are alive and well once in a while…. that would be a great thing to see.

Since they already do it with actors like Genie Francis, Jackie Zeman, why not do it for some of the beloved LLanview and Pine Valley citizens… so again just hoping ABC can eventually regain the rights to the characters without waiting until next year…

KIKI and Franco and Silas are not exciting. It’s like they are living in temporary bodies until the real ones come back. Just Blah.

I thought Prospect Park is in Chapter 11. ABC’s lawsuit can’t go forward while PP is in bankruptcy. ABC could be financially penalized by the Bankruptcy Court for suing PP after it filed for Chapter 11 protection.

All lawsuits, efforts to collect on PP’s debts etc. are automatically stayed by operation of Section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code. ABC has to request to lift the automatic stay in order to proceed with its claims against PP, which request the Bankruptcy Court can deny. Otherwise, ABC’s counterclaims cannot go forward BUT PP’s original lawsuit against ABC can proceed because any proceeds PP can get from suing ABC (assuming PP wins) will go to the Chapter 11 estate to pay expenses of administering the bankruptcy case and PP’s creditors based on their priority to receive payments as set forth in the Bankruptcy Code. A big reason reason why PP filed for bankruptcy is to avail of the protections of the automatic stay and have breathing room from its claimants and creditors as PP goes through its Chapter 11 proceedings.

ABC should combine the remnants of ALL MY CHILDREN (meaning the characters who we assume would still be in Pine Valley) along with the residents of Landview and just have a Half hour lead-in program to GENERAL HOSPITAL. That would appease fans of both shows, would only have to be a half-hour for cost effectiveness, and would be a success without a doubt. I do not know which actors would be available, but they could also introduce new characters and work around re-casting familiar characters where necessary. If fans REALLY want to see their beloved shows extended, re-casts and new characters would be necessary and would have to be expected and accepted.

Why would they do this when The Chews ratings are at higher levels than AMC’s was. The CHew is chapear producing and doing really good ratings. ABC is making money off the Chew why would they take it off and replace it with something that would cost more money and may not do the same numbers ratings wise?

David, do you work for The Chew? Not that there’s anything wrong with that! (Actually there is)

David replied April 3rd, 2014 at 6:44 pm

No Delores I don’t but i am ust stating facts and the numbers. I am just trying to make sure people realize that AMC/OLTL are not coming back. The CHew is doing better numbers than AMC was doing in its last few years. The Chew’s production costs are half of what AMC’s were. But hey you don’t want to face the facts that AMC/OLTL are not coming back to ABC then continue to live you fantasy that will neer come true.

I just want this to all be over & for PP to win so that OLTL & AMC can come back.
PP is trying so hard to get these shows back. I am so happy & proud of them . ABC
sucks big time & needs to just pay them . ABC is in the wrong here.

Cindy, if Prospect Park has declared bankruptcy, it means they are no longer financially solvent. How could they “bring back” either ALL MY CHILDREN or ONTL under those conditions? Actors have to be paid, lighting and stage people have to be paid, directors and writers have to be paid, etc. – I’m not a great financial genius in any way but it seems doubtful to me at this particular point that PP can bring the shows back.

Even if Prospect Park gets some money from ABC in the lawsuit or some kind of settlement what they do with it is their business.They don’t have to use the money to bring AMC and OLTL back again.Plus they would still have to pay off all their debts and that includes theirs to ABC.Plus other lawsuits could be heading PP’s way before too long.

At this point this whole debacle has become comical. The storyline and plot twists of Prospect Park and ABC’s feud and the will OLTL come back? will it stay dead? If it comes back how long will it last? It Has probably become a deeper storyline than the stories on the show and that’s a bold statement. My take:
ABC: They were wrong to cancel OLTL anyways and when OLTL’s ratings surged they should’ve admitted their mistake. They also were wrong to kill off OLTL characters on GH and permanately keep important characters and that made things harder for Prospect Park.
Prospect Park: lets just say they are no saints either. Even though OLTL took 3 actors one returned (Todd), one wasnt too important at this point anyways (Starr) so all they lost was John. You can make a show work when it’s only missing one essential character. Prospect Park wronged the fans by lying to them saying it was going to be Monday-Thursday episodes and then cut that to 2 episodes a week quickly that was obviously planned. Another mistake they made was to try to turn OLTL into something it wasn’t. They tried to change it to any other TV drama show its not a drama it is a soap an their is a difference. They also hired a terrible writing staff to boot. Then when the going got tough they got going and gave up and decided to cut their losses by sueing ABC. They had Trevor St. John and Roger Howarth on the same show and it didn’t work out for goodness sake that’s how you know the writing was horrible.
Prospect Park is guilty of disgusting mismanagement of one of the greatest shows of all time and then quitting and contradicting the values they said they valued in order to get the fans support in the beginning.
ABC is guilty of making a dumb decision in canceling OLTL and were too stubborn to admit a mistake. Then like a child whose mad his little brother now has his toy they tried to break the toy (ruin OLTL by sabotaging it). To be fair with the management of One Life that PP out out with or without ABC’s sabotagery the show was still sure to fail.
Now because of PP’s “efforts” OLTL is worse off than it was when it was first cancelled.
I at this point wish it would had never come back because the cliffhanger ending on ABC was perfect to me and was ruined by GH and PP.
I’ve pretty much given up all my hope the show will ever come back in a recognizable view.
I guess you can never say never but I’ll say probably not.
This is all coming from a 15 year old boy by the way.
I no longer watch anything on ABC outside of NBA basketball. And I watch absolutely no Prospect Park programs.

Well said Edwin, you highlighted all of the important issues regarding ABC and Prospect Park. I agree with you 100%. I wished the shows never returned because they trashed both shows. The quality of writing was horrible. The cliffhanger ending was great, then GH decided to grab some of the OLTL characters and immediately kill off two actors (Cole and Hope). Then, when they returned, they wanted the actors back, and they were forced to leave temporarily and had to be established as new characters. Roger Howarth as Franco, come on, seriously? He will always be Todd Manning and they should have kept the characters on both shows. That would have made for great potential cross-over storylines. Like you, I’ve given up on the possibility of OLTL returning. They are in a financial mess and both ABC and Prospect Park are constantly suing and countersuing each other over unpaid fees, damages, etc.

This is all bull s—t… Our beloved soaps shouldn’t have been cancelled in the first place.. ABC is so money hungry. ABC didn’t want them to succeed in any new format..Well ABC you should have left well enough alone and kept these two beloved soaps on the t.v… It is all on ABC! Soap wreckers!

I understand that ABC want the licensing fees that they are owed. But they have no suffered any “damages” in any of this. ABC made a clear choice not to support the relaunch of these shows even though they would have benefited from it. They’re the bad guys in this situation.

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